‘How I Met Your Mother’ Possibly Getting a 9th Season

“How I Met Your Mother” could be getting a season 9, according to Variety. The magazine reports that CBS and 20th Century Fox have begun negotiations for at least one more season of the hit sitcom.

Variety says that, at this point, the talks are only preliminary and there is no set timetable for when the negotiations will be finished. The series experienced an unexpected ratings jump for its seventh season, and even though the show’s contracts don’t extend past 2012-13, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, the creators and executive producers, may be able to alter the upcoming storylines to accommodate an additional season.

Bays and Thomas said in January at the Television Critics Association press tour that they had a plan in mind for how the show would end, but the actors seem to like the prospect of staying on for another season. At TCA Jason Segel said, “I really agree that I’d like to see the story come to its natural end, whether it’s 8 years or 9 years.”

With this new development, it’s uncertain how season 8 of “How I Met Your Mother” will pan out. Season 7 ended with Ted finally closing the door on his relationship with Victoria, Marshall and Lily’s baby being born, and Barney’s bride being revealed, so most likely the beginning of the season will focus on how they got to that point. We know that Ted meets the mother at Barney’s wedding, which he describes as going horribly wrong, but whether she will actually be revealed and her and Ted’s courtship will take place during the season remains to be seen.